We’re excited to announce the return of our flagship VC training program, Venture Capital Unlocked: Secrets of Silicon Valley Investing (formerly called IGSVI). 500 Startups, in partnership with the Stanford Center for Professional Development, will be once again running this popular two-week program. In this program, individuals will learn 500s investment playbook and gain firsthand access to world-famous Silicon Valley VCs, Angels, SV startups and entrepreneurs (including 500’s portfolio). This session will run from February 8-19, 2016. For more information and to apply, please visit: 500.vc/apply 500 Diversity Scholarship We’re pleased to announce that we will be offering several 12K scholarships to selected investors from backgrounds that have been traditionally underrepresented in venture capital, including women and candidates from diverse …

As we close another big year in tech it’s a time honored tradition to take a moment to reflect. Not on the year past of course. In this industry it’s actually too dangerous to look behind you. So instead the venture community likes to make bold visionary-like predictions for what’s to happen next year. While we are almost never right about this stuff that doesn’t stop us from cranking out these prediction posts. Of course here at 500 we do things a little bit different. To that end, we’re happy to present the 500 Startups 2016 anti-predictions for tech. Basically a few predictions that are never going to f*cking happen. Although it would be pretty cool if they did. Twitter …

Growth is life and life is growth, aka what email marketing taught me about life outside the inbox. When you think about growth all day long, and have a practice of yoga and meditation, it’s natural to start drawing some parallels between marketing, and — life. (This is not going to turn into a Canva card, I promise.) The following post came out of the many conversations I’ve had in “work” and in “life” (to me, a continuum), where I find myself talking about growth in one area, only to say “It’s just like in… [the other area].” You don’t grow your business without some inevitable takeaways for growth in your life. If you don’t see it, maybe ur doin’ …

(The first in a three part series catching up with past VC Unlocked participants. Find out how the program benefited them, as well as their best advice for those who are thinking of investing.) We’re excited to announce the return of our flagship VC training program, Venture Capital Unlocked: Secrets of Silicon Valley Investing (formerly called IGSVI). 500 Startups, in partnership with the Stanford Center for Professional Development, will be once again running this popular two-week course. In this course, individuals will learn 500s investment playbook and gain firsthand access to world-famous Silicon Valley VCs, Angels, SV startups and entrepreneurs (including 500’s portfolio). This session will run from February 8-19, 2016. For more information and to apply, please visit: 500.vc/apply In …

The decision to raise US interest rates for the first time in seven years could have negative effects on established startup businesses, investors have said, marking the start a new era of more cautious investment.

A few reasons you won’t raise money: Your business isn’t the right fit for VC (which is totally OK!) You business could be interesting to VC, but you have nothing yet. Stop pitching, and focus on building a solid business that solves a big problem, getting customers, and assembling a great team. You’re not talking to the right investors, or you may live in a city without a mature ecosystem that supports early stage companies, or….. Your pitch sucks, and you can’t tell your story on stage or on the fly. I can help with the last one. Building a great business is more important than a great pitch, but if you don’t know how to tell your story, …

Crystal Huang is the Co-Founder and CEO of ProSky, a high-growth startup and #500strong company. She previously led marketing for Vivint, which sold one entity to Blackstone for $2B and brought a second entity to IPO. She loves spending her free time with her family, designing, and shopping. At ProSky, we believe that “your people are your greatest assets”! I know that sounds cliché, but the fact is that at all stages of a company, an organization’s people can make or break a company. The merger of HP and Compaq in the 90’s seemed to be the story of hope. In the end, it nearly devastated the company because the two corporations had too different of people and culture to …

Sharoon Thomas is an expert in business information systems. In his career as an ERP consultant, Sharoon has helped retailers of all sizes implement their omni-channel strategy. He is a co-founder and the CEO of Fulfil.IO, a platform which helps internet retailers to manage every aspects of their business. Fulfil.IO is a 500 Startups company (Accelerator Batch 15). The holiday season is officially in full swing! and there is no better time than the present for internet retailers to use social media and other tech tools to increase sales. At Fulfil.io, we support retailers with our suite of inventory and order management tools, custom built for each business. Another new feature available now is the “Buy” button from Google, Facebook …

At 500 Startups, our team of 100 people manage seed investments in 18 countries and speak over 20 languages. We are a diverse family that is often flying from Silicon Valley to different corners of the world. Right now some of my colleagues are traveling to Bahrain (Manama), UAE (Abu Dhabi & Dubai), Jordan (Amman & Dead Sea) and Egypt (Cairo) for the latest Geeks On A Plane tour. At 500, we love to explore new territories and connect with some of the brightest founders from different cultures, backgrounds, religions, personalities, beliefs systems and abilities. 500 Startups is taking active steps to bring the tech world closer together. We’re only scratching the surface in understanding how the world works and how we’re truly interconnected. Luckily, technology accelerates …

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